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Dragonsblood: Chapter 22
Third Pass 1 (508 AL) Kindan and Lorana reach the oldtimer rooms. Ketan, who had recently returned from the past, joined them. They enter the room, and are surprised to hear a disembodied voice announcing that it was Wind Blossom, and telling them to enter if they'd come for an emergency involving the s, otherwise to leave immediately. They enter the room. A recording to Emorra's voice now greets them, telling them to take certain booklets and sit down. M'tal and Salina enter at about that time. Emorra's voice instructs them on how to move the lessons along. They begin the booklet, which explains, in laymen's terms, the basics of genetics. Lorana finishes the first two chapters first and performs an experiment at the end of the second chapter before going on to chapter three. Kiyary and Tilara enters the room, bringing meals. The next morning, during breakfast, Kindan absently taps out some drum sequences. Lorana realizes the connection between the drum sequences and the way PNA was structured. Later that day, they discussed what they knew, that it would be possible to construct a retrovirus to correct the cells in a dragon to enable it to fight off the infection, and then to use the ichor from that one to immunize other dragons. But they still did not know how to get into the next room, which required them to say a word. There was Thread the next day, which would pull them away from the room. In addition, B'nik's Caranth was getting worse. D'gan surveyed the assembled ranks of dragons, strengthened with those who had just returned from the past. His Kaloth was coughing terribly, feeling quite ill, but D'gan intended to lead the Fall nonetheless. K'rem tries to convince D'gan not to fly that Fall. D'lin wished to fly that Fall, but D'gan told him he'd stay at the Weyr this time. At Benden, the Weyr prepared for the upcoming Fall. Caranth would not fly that Fall, being too ill. B'nik and M'tal, who would lead that Fall, met with each wing. Lorana and Kindan meet again in the Learning Rooms, trying to figure out the answer to the riddle of what word to say. Suddenly, Lorana shivers, her eyes wide with fear, calling out to D'gan. D'gan leads his weyr between. He begins to think that next Fall he should stay behind and let D'nal or L'rat lead. He realizes they'd been between too long, and, as his cuonsciousness seeped away, he though in terror The Weyrs! They must be warned! Back at Telgar, D'lin watches the dragons go between. After several seconds, Aseth announces that he cuold not hear the dragons. D'lin heard D'gan's last thought and, panicking, set out to go to Benden ... failing to give clear co-ordinates and emerging in solid rock, to be found two thousand Turns later. The shock of the entire Weyr being lost between reverberates among the dragons, including Benden's, fighting Thread. Lorana slumps to the floor, announcing the loss of Telgar. Caranth goes between in the hopes of finding the dragons of Telgar. Minith leaps between after him. Lorana reaches between after them, trying to bring them back. She draws on the power of all of Benden's dragons, then 's, 's and '. Oddly, High Reaches appears to have too few dragons, and she feels an "echo". Reaching, she finds Caranth and Minith, bringing them back. She fails to find Telgar, but she feels something else, something familiar, a presence which speaks to her about dragons, asking how they were sick. Lorana suddenly knows the answer, and cries out "Air!". The door to the second Learning Room opens. Characters Appearing *B'nik *D'gan *D'lin *Emorra (recording) *Ketan *Kindan *Kiyary *K'rem *Lorana *M'tal *Salina *Tilara *Wind Blossom (recording) Characters Mentioned *D'nal *J'tol *L'rat D22